BELIZE CITY, Fri. Feb. 26, 2021– The second session of the Commission of Inquiry into the pre-election fire sale of government assets continued with the questioning of Mr. Zhourong Li, better known in the Belizean public as Kelvin Li.

Li’s name surfaced during the proceedings when he was identified as the source of the funds with which a 2020 Toyota Tacoma that belonged to the government was purchased by the former Minister of Natural Resources, Hugo Patt. Incidentally, the commission has also revealed that his name appeared in paperwork which documented multiple land transactions — with some of the lands that Li acquired being directly purchased from the Government of Belize, with the authorization of former Minister Patt, while other properties were purchased through agents, who then transferred government lands processed in their names directly to Li.

During questioning by Andrew Marshalleck, chairman of the Commission, Li admitted to a host of those land deals.

When Marshalleck asked him, “Mr. Li, over the period July 2020 through 3rd November 2020, you purchased some 10 parcels of land from the Government of Belize, did you not?”; Li replied by asking, “From the Government of Belize?” When Marshalleck confirmed that he was asking about land purchased from the Government of Belize, Li asked, “You sure it’s not from private individuals?”

“I’m talking about the 10 from the Government right now,” Marshalleck replied.

“Can you point them out?” Li then asked.

Marshalleck then referred specifically to the purchase of “10.299 acres [in] Carmelita in November of 2020”

“Yes, that one I did,” admitted Li.

Chairman Marshalleck then asked, “You bought that from the Government of Belize?”

Li answered, “I applied for it.”

“And Mr. Hugo Patt approved the purchase? And executed the transfer?” Marshalleck then asked. To this question, Li replied cagily, “You telling me?”

“Yes, I am asking you,” Marshalleck said.

Li then claimed that he went through the normal process of applying for the lands. In response, Marshalleck said, “Some Belizeans are more deserving than others, apparently.”

Li then retorted, “According to you, if that’s the case then I can’t argue about that.”

Marshalleck then responded with an emphatic statement: “No, you can. You can tell me that’s not so. You can tell me  ‘I didn’t receive any favored treatment, that I went through the normal process for all of these lots and they were all approved to me and I paid my money and got all the titles the same day’. And that is how the Lands Department treats all Belizeans, isn’t that so?”

Li avoided the question and said, in reference to the land in Carmelita to which Marshalleck had earlier referred: “That’s one … which one else?”

Marshalleck then asked whether he purchased half an acre in San Pedro, to which he replied, “Yes, that one I did.” When Marshalleck asked whether that purchase was made on October 27,  2020, he said yes. When asked by Marshalleck whether he purchased that property from the government too, his reply was again, “Yes.”

When Marshalleck then asked about the purchase of “52.7 acres 10-pound Caye registration section…,” on November 3, 2020, however, Li said that he bought this property, not from the government, but from a third party.

When Marshalleck asked Li to identify the third party from which he bought the property, Li became evasive, which led to the following exchange between the two:

Chairman Marshalleck: “Who was the third party you bought it from?”

Li: “I bought it from, I believe, a father and son through a third party.”

Chairman Marshalleck: “A fa…who did you buy it from, Mr. Li.?”

Li: “I bought it through a third party from a….”

Chairman Marshalleck: “Yes, that’s not an answer. That’s just forcing me to ask other questions. Who are the third parties, who are the persons you bought it from?”

Li: “Right now, we are disclosing information in the public…”

Chairman Marshalleck: “Yes, you are.”

Li: “I can put someone in danger of their having money…”

Chairman Marshalleck: “Mr. Li, you bought land that belongs to the people of Belize, the whole public, the same public that you owe an obligation to explain how you got it.”

The land in question is a 10-acre plot in Chan Chen, Corozal. Li shared that he had planned to start a farm at the location and a father and son approached him with an offer for him to purchase the plot but through a third party. Li refused to disclose the identity of the individuals but revealed the name of the landowner, one Mr. Hall.

Marshalleck then asked about “2.01 acres [in] San Pedro [that was bought] on the 14th of August … from the Government of Belize,” to which Li responded, “Yes, that one I did apply.” When Marshalleck further asked whether he “bought a lot, parcel 2114 on Caye Caulker on the same, 14th August 2021,” Li replied, “Yes. Yes, that one…”

“And the Government approved that you and transferred to you on the same day?” Marshalleck further enquired.

“Yes, that one…,” Li said.

Marshalleck then went on to ask about other properties — a lot on San Pedro, parcel 8483, bought on July 27, 2020; and parcel 8273 on San Pedro, which was bought on August 2020, but Li said that those properties were bought through third parties. Marshalleck also asked about parcel 8564 in San Pedro, which was bought on July 23, 2020.

Several transfers facilitated by the so-called third parties were made directly to Li. He explained that the persons who approached him would agree to sell parcels for which they had already paid a purchase price to the Lands Department. The purchases were made at a “good deal,” according to Li, and they were transferred directly to him to avoid the additional paperwork.

Chairman Marshalleck asked Li, “So you pay them and they procure the transfer of government directly to you?”

Li replied, “No, they show me a purchase price they already pay.”

“And so you buy it from them — pay them, and you have them have the Government transfer it to you instead of to them?” Marshalleck asked.

“Yes, you can do that,” said Li.

He shared that the third parties he bought the lands from in San Pedro were some friends of his and he refused to disclose their names. These persons facilitated the sale of government lands to Li by covering the payment of the purchase price and having the land titles made out in Li’s name. Chairman Marshalleck suggested that this was done to avoid additional taxes, but Li said that it made the process simpler for the parties, to avoid an additional transfer.

Chairman Marshalleck then said: “We need to know who is going to the Government of Belize and applying for lands and turning around even before it’s transferred to them, selling it to you. We need to know who these people are. So please tell us who they are.”

“I chose not to answer than one. Because I don’t want to disclose any of that information in the public,” Li replied.

Marshalleck responded by saying, “This is a public inquiry. Those lands belong to the public. You bought them from the public. How are you not going to tell the public?”

“I just said that I bought it from private individuals,” Li then said.

Chairman Marshalleck then reminded Li that those private individuals were persons “who were in the process of acquiring it from the people of Belize.” “This is not private property that was vested with people that you are negotiating privately for,” Marshalleck then said.

 “Of course they already paid the purchase price,” replied Li.

“And you took a transfer from the Government of Belize. And this is why you’re subjected to this inquiry and being asked these questions. And I am testing, Mr. Li, the truth of what you are saying, and the way to test that is for you to provide me the details of those transactions so that I’m satisfied that you’re not making it up. So please tell us who you bought each one from and when,” Marshalleck said.

Mr. Li chose not to answer the question. He was told by Chairman Marshalleck that his choice would have repercussions, and after discussing the matter briefly with his attorney, he maintained that he would not disclose the names of the third parties involved in those transactions, in San Pedro. He did state, however, that he owns about 20 lots in San Pedro.

The witness went on to admit to multiple land transactions with various individuals. In many cases, he shared that the persons came to him in desperate situations, and agreed to sell him their lands at a below-market price. Li maintained that he had no help with the land transfers from former Minister Patt, Deputy Commissioner of Lands Ivan Leiva, or anyone else from the Lands Department. He was asked if he financed the purchase of the Toyota Tacoma by Hugo Patt upon a special request and he denied doing so.